Orange County Soccer Club is an American soccer team based in the

Orange County, California Orange County is located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,186,989, making it the third-most-populous county in California, the sixth-most-populous in the United States, a ...

city of Irvine. Founded in 2010 as the Los Angeles Blues, the team currently plays in the second tier

USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, p ...

. The team plays its home games at

Championship Soccer Stadium Championship Soccer Stadium is a 2,500 seat soccer-specific stadium at the Orange County Great Park in Irvine, California, Irvine, California. The stadium serves as the permanent home of Orange County SC of the second tier USL Championship league ...

, located inside Great Park in Irvine.

History

The then Los Angeles Blues were founded by Iranian-American businessman Ali Mansouri in 1998 and announced as a

USL Pro The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, pl ...

expansion franchise on December 7, 2010. The team was associated with the

United Soccer Leagues United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two fi ...

W-League team LA Blues, and is part of the larger Orange County Blues organization, which has competed in Los Angeles-area amateur leagues since 1998. They introduced their first three players—goalkeeper Oscar Dautt and midfielders Cesar Rivera and Josh Tudela—at a formal launch event on December 14, 2010. After an extensive pre-season, the Blues played their first games in the Caribbean over the weekend of April 15–17, 2011, a 3–0 victory over Sevilla Puerto Rico, and a 2–1 victory over Antigua Barracuda. The first goal in franchise history was scored by Cesar Rivera. In January 2012, the Blues announced the hiring of

Steve Donner Steve Donner is an American sports executive, team owner, and manager. He is the founding Commissioner of the Professional Box Lacrosse Association, and the co-owner of the Elmira Mammoth of the Federal Prospects Hockey League. He is the former ...

(formerly CEO of Orlando City) as vice president of business operations to focus on improving marketing for the club and to bring professionalism to the front-office. The first game of the 2012 season reflected these efforts with a 2,432 attendance compared to 696 for the first home game in 2011 (the Blues averaged 382 during the 2011 season). In 2016, the team was purchased by American businessman James Keston, rebranded to Orange County SC. Prior to the 2017 season, Orange County became the USL affiliate of Los Angeles FC in a multi-year deal, which was ended after 2018. The team won the Western Conference Regular Season Title in 2018 with 20 Wins, 8 losses and 6 ties. They defeated

Saint Louis FC Saint Louis FC was an American professional soccer team based in St. Louis, Missouri. The team was founded in May 2014, and competed in the USL Championship. The team played their matches at West Community Stadium, a venue inside the World Wid ...

and

Reno 1868 FC Reno 1868 FC was an American professional soccer team based in Reno, Nevada. Founded in 2015, the team made its debut in the USL Championship in March 2017 and ceased operations after the 2020 season. History Previously, northern Nevada has ...

before losing 2–1 to

Phoenix Rising FC Phoenix Rising Football Club is an American professional soccer team based in Phoenix, Arizona. Founded in 2014 as Arizona United Soccer Club, the team is a member of the USL Championship. History On March 13, 2014, Kyle Eng, owner of an advert ...

in the Western Conference Final. Thomas Enevoldsen scored 20 goals and was named to the All-League First Team along with Aodhan Quinn. In the 2021 season, Head Coach Braden Cloutier was dismissed mid-season and replaced by Assistant Coach Richard Chaplow. OCSC went on to finish second in the Pacific Division, and advance to the USL Championship Final defeating

Tampa Bay Rowdies The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Championship in the second tie ...

at home, 3–1 in regulation.

Stadium

* Titan Stadium; Fullerton, California (2011–2013) * Anteater Stadium;

Irvine, California Irvine () is a master-planned city in South Orange County, California, United States, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Irvine Company started developing the area in the 1960s and the city was formally incorporated on December 28, 197 ...

(2014–2016) *

;

(2017–present)

Club culture

Rivalries

Orange County competes in the 405 Derby against rivals

LA Galaxy II LA Galaxy II is an American professional soccer team based in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California, United States founded in 2014. It is the reserve team of the LA Galaxy. The team competes in MLS Next Pro, the third tier of the United Sta ...

. The clubs are, as of late 2022, in a dispute over who will play at Championship Soccer Stadium, Orange County SC's current home stadium, after leaked documents showed the Galaxy organization is attempting to seize full-time usage of the venue.

Players and staff

Current roster

Front office

* James Keston – Owner & CEO *

Oliver Wyss Oliver Wyss (born August 29, 1974) is the President of Soccer Operations and General Manager for the Orange County SC. Biography Wyss was born in Solothurn Solothurn ( , ; french: Soleure ; it, Soletta ; rm, ) is a town, a municipality, an ...

– President of Soccer Operations & General Manager * Peter Nugent – Sports Director * Dan Rutstein - Interim President of Business Operations

Technical staff

* Richard Chaplow – Head Coach * Robert Earnshaw – Assistant Coach * Paul Hardyman – Assistant Coach * Didier Crettenand – Assistant Coach *

Victor Nogueira Victor Nogueira (born July 17, 1959 in Mozambique) is a retired American soccer goalkeeper. Nogueira spent six seasons in the North American Soccer League, but gained his greatest recognition in over twenty seasons in three indoor leagues, the Ma ...

– Goalkeeping Coach * Mitch Deyhle – Director of Sports Medicine & Head Athletic Trainer

Head coaches

* Charlie Naimo (2011–2012) * Jesus Rico-Sanz (2012–2013) *

Dariush Yazdani Dariush Yazdani ( fa, داریوش یزدانی; born June 2, 1977) is an Iranian former footballer who played as a midfielder. Career statistics Club Honors Club Bargh Shiraz * Hazfi Cup: 1996–97 Esteghlal * Iranian Football League: 1 ...

(2013–2014) *

(2014–2016) *

Barry Venison Barry Venison (born 16 August 1964) is an English football coach, former professional footballer and sports television pundit. As a player was a defender from 1981 to 1997. He played for Sunderland, Liverpool, Newcastle United, Galatasaray and ...

(2016) * Logan Pause (2017) *

Braeden Cloutier Braeden Cloutier (born October 3, 1974) is an American soccer coach and former player who is the former head coach of Orange County SC. As a player, he spent five seasons in Major Soccer League and over twelve in various indoor leagues. Early l ...

(2018–2021) * Richard Chaplow (2021–present)

Record

Year-by-year

This is a partial list of the last five seasons completed by the club. For the full season-by-season history, see

List of Orange County SC seasons The American Association football, soccer club Orange County SC, previously known as Los Angeles Blues and Orange County Blues FC, has competed in the USL Championship since its founding in 2011. The following list includes each season of the club' ...

. 1. Avg. Attendance include statistics from league matches only.
2. Top Goalscorer(s) includes all goals scored in league play, playoffs, U.S. Open Cup, and other competitive matches.

Honors

* Winners:

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

USL Championship Western Conference (playoffs) * Winners:

USL Championship Western Conference (regular season) * Winners (2): 2015,

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...

References

External links

* {{Navboxes , titlestyle = background:black; color:white; border:2px solid #EF4937; , list1 = {{Orange County SC squad {{Orange County SC managers {{Los Angeles FC {{United Soccer Leagues {{Soccer in Los Angeles {{Orange County Sports {{Greater Los Angeles Area Sports {{California sports Association football clubs established in 2010 USL Championship teams Soccer clubs in Greater Los Angeles Iranian soccer clubs in the United States 2010 establishments in California Soccer clubs in California